"Grey, Zane - Betty Zane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grey Zane)

The interior of a pioneer's rude dwelling did not reveal, as a rule, more than
bare walls, a bed or two, a table and a few chairs--in fact, no more than the
necessities of life. But Colonel Zane's house proved an exception to this.
Most interesting was the large room. The chinks between the logs had been
plastered up with clay and then the walls covered with white birch bark;
trophies of the chase, Indian bows and arrows, pipes and tomahawks hung upon
them; the wide spreading antlers of a noble buck adorned the space above the
mantel piece; buffalo robes covered the couches; bearskin rugs lay scattered
about on the hardwood floor. The wall on the western side had been built over
a huge stone, into which had been cut an open fireplace.

This blackened recess, which had seen two houses burned over it, when full of
blazing logs had cheered many noted men with its warmth. Lord Dunmore, General
Clark, Simon Kenton, and Daniel Boone had sat beside that fire. There
Cornplanter, the Seneca chief, had made his famous deal with Colonel Zane,
trading the island in the river opposite the settlement for a barrel of
whiskey. Logan, the Mingo chief and friend of the whites, had smoked many
pipes of peace there with Colonel Zane. At a later period, when King Louis
Phillippe, who had been exiled from France by Napoleon, had come to America,
during the course of his melancholy wanderings he had stopped at Fort Henry a
few days. His stay there was marked by a fierce blizzard and the royal guest
passed most of his time at Colonel Zane's fireside. Musing by those roaring
logs perhaps he saw the radiant star of the Man of Destiny rise to its
magnificent zenith.

One cold, raw night in early spring the Colonel had just returned from one of
his hunting trips and the tramping of horses mingled with the rough voices of
the negro slaves sounded without. When Colonel Zane entered the house he was
greeted affectionately by his wife and sister. The latter, at the death of her
aunt in Philadelphia, had come west to live with her brother, and had been
there since late in the preceding autumn. It was a welcome sight for the eyes
of a tired and weary hunter. The tender kiss of his comely wife, the cries of
the delighted children, and the crackling of the fire warmed his heart and
made him feel how good it was to be home again after a three days' march in
the woods. Placing his rifle in a corner and throwing aside his wet hunting
coat, he turned and stood with his back to the bright blaze. Still young and
vigorous, Colonel Zane was a handsome man. Tall, though not heavy, his frame
denoted great strength and endurance. His face was smooth, his heavy eyebrows
met in a straight line; his eyes were dark and now beamed with a kindly light;
his jaw was square and massive; his mouth resolute; in fact, his whole face
was strikingly expressive of courage and geniality. A great wolf dog had
followed him in and, tired from travel, had stretched himself out before the
fireplace, laying his noble head on the paws he had extended toward the warm
blaze.

"Well! Well! I am nearly starved and mighty glad to get back," said the
Colonel, with a smile of satisfaction at the steaming dishes a negro servant
was bringing from the kitchen.